9 Early Predictions For NJPW G1 Climax 2018

5. There Will Be No Ibushi

Kota Ibushi Kenny Omega
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When the field was announced for the 2017 G1 Climax, all but one of the names were expected to take part. The square peg in the round hole was Kota Ibushi, his announcement drawing a huge response from live crowd and international fans respectively.

Fans began to salivate at the possibility of Ibushi vs. Kenny Omega, with many predicting that it the former Golden Lovers would meet in the finals. It wasn't to be, as Ibushi finished in the middle of Block A with 10 points. Ibushi and Omega had an intriguing backstage meeting after Omega's final loss, fuelling speculation that the two are on a collision course for Wrestle Kingdom 12.

Kota Ibushi is a professional wrestling freelancer in the truest sense of the term. He wrestles where he wants, with no thoughts given to the size or relative strength of the promotion. It seems unlikely that Ibushi will give up this freedom to commit to NJPW. As such, I wouldn't expect to see the Golden Star in the 28th G1.

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Born in the middle of Wales in the middle of the 1980's, John can't quite remember when he started watching wrestling but he has a terrible feeling that Dino Bravo was involved. Now living in Prague, John spends most of his time trying to work out how Tomohiro Ishii still stands upright. His favourite wrestler of all time is Dean Malenko, but really it is Repo Man. He is the author of 'An Illustrated History of Slavic Misery', the best book about the Slavic people that you haven't yet read. You can get that and others from www.poshlostbooks.com.